


how could I ignore you? trust me, i adore you

by daisydenbrough



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Canon-typical swearing, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier Being Idiots, Eddie Kaspbrak wears makeup, Eddie Kaspbrak works at Ulta Beauty, F/M, Fluff, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, implied stanlonbrough (if you squint), literally just another retail meet-cute, the author misses their job at Ulta beauty so wrote this to cope, this fic brought to you by quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24980575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisydenbrough/pseuds/daisydenbrough
Summary: “Richie, s-seriously?” He heard an exasperated voice ask as the doors chimed. He looked up from his spot on floor restocking shelves to see Richie entering the store once again, this time bringing with him a tall dark-skinned boy with a bright smile and a scrawny-ish ginger boy who was closer to Eddie’s own height.Eddie smiled fondly and rolled his eyes as he stood from his spot restocking shelves, popping up to greet the boys. “No Stan this time?” He asked, fighting the urge grin at Richie, who was sporting another obnoxious Hawaiian shirt, this time bright yellow.“Hiya Eddie! Crazy coincidence seeing you here again, Billy here needs some uh, lip balm, and we just happened to be shopping in the area,” Richie said, gesturing towards the ginger boy, who was looking at him with wide-eyed confusion. The other boy elbowed Bill, gesturing towards Eddie awkwardly.-----Or, A retail meet-cute where Eddie is the beautiful boy who works at Ulta, and Richie can't stop dragging his friends in as an excuse to stare at him.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 14
Kudos: 172





	how could I ignore you? trust me, i adore you

**Author's Note:**

> this fic brought to you by a furloughed Ulta employee who really misses her job. no warnings or anything - this fic is literally just pure fluff. 
> 
> title from corduroy dreams by rex orange county. you do not know how long it took me to find a title for this thing, and i don't really even love it. oh well. 
> 
> enjoy!!! :)

Eddie internally groaned as he heard the telltale sound of the front door opening and closing, signaling an entering customer. Technically, the store wouldn’t close for another fifteen minutes, but for some reason, the customers who came in this late always needed the most attention and were rarely ready to check out by the time they closed, and Eddie really just wanted to sweep the floors and _go home_. 

He popped up from where he was kneeling behind the cash register, emptying the small trash cans (one of the less glamorous tasks that came with working at a makeup store) to see which middle-aged soccer mom had come in dragging her two scary children behind her, looking for expensive face cream in a desperate quest to save her marriage. 

He was taken aback, however, when his eyes met a duo that was closer to his age - a slender red-headed girl, and a tall, gangly, curly-haired boy. “Sorry! I know you’re almost closed! I was just in the area and remembered I needed mascara!” The red-head said, smiling timidly at Eddie. Eddie realized he must have been scowling and quickly flashed a small smile at the two, knowing his annoying manager Rachel would be on his ass if he wasn’t the _perfect_ retail employee. 

“You’re fine, let me know if you need help!” He said cheerfully, following his internal script and thanking the universe that she hadn’t come in looking for a foundation match or to try a million lipstick shades. 

The red-headed girl nodded and made her way over to the mascara she was looking for. The curly-haired boy, however, simply continued to stand where he was in the front of the store, and Eddie could feel his face heat up as he realized the boy was staring at him. Like dumb, open-mouthed, blatant _staring,_ his bugged eyes accentuated by his large glasses. 

Eddie raised his eyebrows at the boy, trying to convey what he so badly wanted to sneer at the dumbfounded boy: _what, never seen a boy wearing makeup before?_ Eddie was used to this - boys coming in with their girlfriends and being made uncomfortable by the stereotypically feminine makeup that Eddie enjoyed wearing. Today it was a soft look that Eddie was quite proud of until this boy had to look at him like he was a goddamn alien: a lavender cut crease, a pink glossy lip, and some little gold stars applied to his nose and cheeks like freckles. The boy was still staring, clearly not getting the hint - Eddie scoffed and turned away from the boy, rolling his eyes, his patience growing thin. 

“Wait, fuck..shit...sorry...you’re just...you’re _really pretty,_ ” the boy said, reaching up to adjust the large glasses resting on his face. 

Eddie froze, turning to look back at the boy, who was awkwardly fussing with the hem of his brightly patterned and somewhat garish button-down. Eddie blinked and slowly opened his mouth to respond to the boy when he was abruptly cut off by the red-head, who had returned with her mascara. “C’mon Rich, stop ogling him and let him do his job,” she said chuckling, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him towards Eddie at the cash register. 

“Found the right one?” Eddie asked as he recomposed himself and grabbed the mascara to scan it. 

“Yes, thank you!” the girl said, explaining, “I realized I didn’t have any left and my boyfriend and I are leaving on a trip tomorrow”. Eddie turned his gaze to look at the tall, awkward boy who was _still_ staring at Eddie like an idiot. The girl followed his gaze, looking at the taller boy, and bursting into laughter. “Oh, no, Richie is _not_ my boyfriend!” She giggled and Richie let out a loud snort. 

“No, my dear Bev here is far too out of my league. The only woman for me is her Aunt.” the tall boy said, joining in on the laughter and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 

“And the only woman for my Aunt is her girlfriend, Richard ” the girl, Bev, retorted, shrugging his arm off her shoulder so that she could reach into her purse and pay. 

“I’m gonna miss you Bevvie, whatever will I do while you go to New York with your _himbo_ of a boyfriend?” Richie said, placing his chin on her shoulder as she handed her cash to Eddie. Eddie felt the corners of his lips turning up as he tried to hold back his laughter at Richie’s choice in words. 

“Honestly, probably cry into your pillow, smoke weed, and make bad tik-toks,” Bev said, rolling her eyes fondly. Richie scoffed, clutching at his chest. 

“My tik-toks are not bad!”

Eddie quickly slipped the tube of mascara and the receipt into a bag as he tried to hold back his laughter at the antics of the two. “Have a great night and a nice trip!” He said, passing the shopping bag to Bev. 

“Thanks, uh, Eddie,” She said, looking down to find his name on his bright pink name tag. 

“No problem!” He said, genuinely cheerfully. He was glad he was able to end his night with people who actually treated retail workers like humans. The two began to make their way to the door, and Eddie turned back to the area where he had been working previously. 

“Bye Eds!” Richie shouted obnoxiously from the door as it closed behind him. Eddie whipped his head around to see Richie waving at him enthusiastically from the glass, as Bev attempted to pull him away by his arm. Eddie rolled his eyes but smiled as he returned the wave, much to Richie’s excitement, and the two then made their way to the parking lot. Eddie found himself in a better mood than usual as he closed up the store that evening, despite the fact that Rachel made him mop the entire storefront before he could leave. 

\----------

  
  


Eddie hadn’t expected to see Richie again after that day, and he certainly hadn’t expected to see him basically every single day he worked. Over the course of the next week, he had seen Richie three times, all of them with another tall boy with curly hair, although his curls, and his overall appearance, were much more kempt than Richie’s. Eddie learned on the second visit he was called Stan, and he was not terribly pleased about having to follow Richie into the store. 

“Richie, s-seriously?” He heard an exasperated voice ask as the doors chimed. He looked up from his spot on floor restocking shelves to see Richie entering the store once again, this time bringing with him a tall dark-skinned boy with a bright smile and a scrawny-ish ginger boy who was closer to Eddie’s own height. 

Eddie smiled fondly and rolled his eyes as he stood from his spot restocking shelves by the Clinique counter, popping up to greet the boys. “No Stan this time?” He asked, fighting the urge grin at Richie, who was sporting another obnoxious Hawaiian shirt, this time bright yellow. 

“Hiya Eddie! Crazy coincidence seeing you here again, Billy here needs some uh, lip balm, and we just happened to be shopping in the area,” Richie said, gesturing towards the ginger boy, who was looking at him with wide-eyed confusion. The other boy elbowed Bill, gesturing towards Eddie awkwardly. 

“Oh, uh, yes. I-I would like some lip balm, my lips-” 

“They’re so dry, they’re like the Sahara Desert. No one wants to kiss him, you’ve gotta help him Eds” Riche exclaimed, receiving a smack from both of his friends. 

“Sure, follow me, I guess,” Eddie said, stifling his laughter as the three boys shuffled awkwardly behind him. “Here,” he said, gesturing to the selection of lip balms and oils on an endcap. All three boys stood awkwardly, none of them moving to choose any of the products. Eddie was pretty sure that Richie was staring at him again too. Today Eddie had gone for a brighter look, sporting neon pink winged liner with a matching lip, and he could feel Richie’s gaze barring into the side of his face, his cheats heating up. 

“So...” Eddie said, clearing his throat. “Found any you like?” He said, turning his gaze to the boys. 

The ginger one, Bill, Eddie thinks, flailed his hand, grabbing a yellow tube of Burt’s Bees from the top shelf, barely looking to see what he chose. “Yup, this is f-fine,” Bill said, holding up the small tube. 

“Ok, let’s go buy it then,” the tall, darker-skinned one said, grabbing both of his awkward friends by the shoulders and corralling them towards the checkout counter. 

“Bye Eds,” Richie said, turning his head as he was forcefully pushed to the other side of the store by his friends. 

Eddie rolled his eyes, but waved back, holding back a smile (and laughter). 

\----------

“Eddie, your _boyfriend_ is here”, one of his co-workers, Max, teased from the doorway to the backroom. Eddie rolled his eyes, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He wasn’t dressed in his usual all-black uniform of a button-up and slacks, but instead in sweatpants and a t-shirt due to the fact that today he was only scheduled for ‘tasking’, which essentially meant he was unboxing stock and sorting it. Luckily today his manager was Kelley, who was very amused by Richie’s constant visits. 

“Don’t leave him hanging Kaspbrak”, Kelley said smirking. “Take your break too, we’ve been working for hours and I want a Starbucks” She added, winking. 

Eddie sighed and brushed his hair off of his sweaty forehead, trying to fix his appearance as best as possible. He wasn’t wearing makeup today, so he felt a little naked walking into the storefront. 

“Eds!” A voice exclaimed from one of the shampoo aisles. Eddie turned the corner to see a small group of people around his age, all with varying levels of excitement, from Richie’s beaming grin, to Stan’s murderous glare, looking back at him. Eddie internally cursed Max for leaving out the detail that Richie was not alone and had instead brought an entire minivan’s worth of friends with him. 

“Hi, Eddie!” The girl he had met before, Beverly, said, waving her hand, the other held by the one member of the group that Eddie hadn’t seen in Ulta before. This guy was tall and fairly muscular - Bev’s ‘himbo’ (Richie’s word, not his) he assumed. 

“Hi Bev, and everyone, I guess. Can I help you guys?” Eddie asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly. Everyone in the group turned to look at Richie with the same expectant look, clearly waiting for him to answer Eddie. Richie opened his mouth to say something, then quickly shut it again, his eyes wide as they met Eddie’s gaze. 

“Yes, actually, we are here to stage an intervention and get Mikey here some cologne because he smells bad and Stan doesn’t-”

“Richie!” Beverly shouted, hitting his arm incredulously. Bill and the dark-skinned boy from last time (Mike?) both laughed loudly. Beverly’s boyfriend blushed, looking to be holding back a smile. Stan's eyes were closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Richard, I will strangle you and leave your dead body on the side of the highway,” Stan finally managed, entirely deadpan. 

“Umm…” Eddie tried, still extremely confused as to why Richie and his troupe of friends were standing in his workplace, staring at him. “I’m not scheduled to work the storefront today but I can have Max help you-” Eddie said, gesturing to his lack of uniform and bare face. 

“Actually we just realized that we have to leave right now, so we’re going to do that, bye Eds!” Richie word-vomited, turning sharply on his heel and booking it towards the exit of the Ulta. 

“Richie, seriously?” Beverly asked as she turned to hurriedly follow him out of the store, pulling her boyfriend along with her. Stan huffed and stormed off to follow behind them. Bill smiled sheepishly at Eddie before Mike intertwined their fingers and dragged him along. 

Eddie was rendered speechless, standing in the shampoo aisle like an idiot for a good minute before he realized he needed to grab something to eat before his break ended. _What the fuck?_ He thought, still trying to unpack the interaction he just experienced. He turned and walked back to the back room. Max looked up from her phone as he entered, raising her eyebrows suggestively. 

“You know he comes here every day? Like even when you’re off?” She said, smirking. 

“He _what?_ ” Eddie asked incredulously. Eddie was still a student, so a few days of the week he was off just to do schoolwork and class. Eddie was bewildered by the fact that Richie came in every single day to see him. 

Max nodded, smiling. Eddie let out a sigh, plopping down next to her at the table, needing a moment to process _that_ new development on top of whatever the fuck just happened in the hair care section. 

\----------

  
  


Eddie whipped his head around quickly as he heard the chime of the door, signaling a customer, one (1) minute before he was allowed to lock the doors and close the store. He was in a terrible mood - he woke up late, and so was forced to come to work without any makeup and some old lady cussed him out for telling her that she couldn’t open one of the products without buying it first. He was about ready to _murder_ the customer when he realized he recognized the tall boy, glasses askew and hair in wild messy curls. Richie. 

“Hey, so, Beverly made me do this...I’m not sure if you’re interested or not but she says she’s tired of watching me be an idiot and I realized you probably don’t like me and I am annoying you and I totally understand if you say no, but you’re genuinely the cutest boy I have ever met and I would like to take you on a date-” 

“Ok,” Eddie said, a smile forming on his face. 

“That’s fine, I completely understand, it was stupid and I-” Richie froze. “Wait, Ok? Like you’ll go out with me, or like, ugh shut up Richie-” 

“Ok as in, ok, I will go on a date with you, moron”, Eddie teased, smiling up at him. 

“You like me?” Richie asked, his wide eyes meeting Eddie’s. 

“Yes. I think you’re cute, Richie.” Eddie answered honestly. 

“That’s really gay, Eds,” Richie said with a grin, back to his usual self. Eddie huffed and rolled his eyes. 

“I’ll be done in like twenty minutes if you can wait that long we could go grab some food nearby?” Eddie asked, gesturing towards the litany of restaurants that littered the strip mall he worked in. 

“Yes, absolutely, sure, yeah” Richie rambled, nodding enthusiastically. “I’ll just go sit outside and fuck around on my phone while I wait,” He said, gesturing towards a bench by the door. 

Eddie nodded, a blush forming on his cheeks. Richie waved as he slipped out of the store, Eddie locking it behind him. Eddie waved back and quickly got to his closing tasks with a big smile on his face. 

  
  


\---------- 

_Six Months Later_

“Stop fucking moving,” Eddie exclaimed frustratedly at his boyfriend. “You asked me to do your makeup, so stop flinching every time that I try to put eyeshadow on you,” Eddie pleaded, applying some more shadow to his blending brush. Richie whined as Eddie motioned for him to close his eyes. “Brat.” He said, kissing Richie on the nose and then the lips, which made Richie smile wide and finally comply. Eddie quickly brushed some more blue to the outer edges of Richie’s eyes. “Done.” He said, leaning back to admire his boyfriend, who was now sporting a blue smokey eye. Richie smiled and pulled Eddie back towards him by his shirt collar, kissing him hard. 

“I wanna see!” Beverly shouted from across the room. Eddie felt a few pieces of popcorn pelt the side of his face as he broke away from Richie. 

Eddie turned his gaze to the other side of the room. Beverly and Ben sat crammed into one armchair, and adjacent to them were Mike, Bill, and Stan, leaning close together with limbs intertwined and smiles on their faces. 

“Looking g-good, Tozier!” Bill added, admiring Eddie’s makeup skills. The others hummed or nodded in agreement. 

“You look beautiful Rich, take a look” Eddie added, reaching into his makeup bag. 

Eddie rummaged for a second and then handed Richie a small compact with a mirror so he could see for himself. Richie beamed when he saw the way his eyes were accentuated boldly. He turned and kissed Eddie once again for good measure. 

“No, you’re beautiful, and I am so lucky that Bev needed mascara,” Richie said, kissing Eddie’s cheek, “and that you didn’t file a restraining order after I showed up at your work every day afterward for random things,” he added, pecking Eddie quickly on the lips.

“Oh really? Stan didn’t need moisturizer or hair dye? Bill didn’t need lip balm?” Eddie teased. 

Richie laughed, “No, all I really needed was you”. 

“That’s so fucking cheesy, you dork!” Eddie said, reconnecting their lips again. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so so much for reading! comments and kudos are much appreciated - i am desperate for human interaction and would love to chat about anything including makeup or shitty retail managers. 
> 
> p.s. i told my irl friend group that i wrote some reddie fics and i am praying as i post this that they do not find this 🙃


End file.
